We show that a recently discovered non-perturbative field-theoretical mechanism giving mass to elementary fermions, is also capable of generating a mass for the electro-weak bosons, if weak interactions are switched on, and can thus be used as a viable alternative to the Higgs scenario. A detailed analysis of this remarkable feature shows that the non-perturbatively generated fermion and $W$ masses have the parametric form $m_{f}\sim C_f(\alpha)\Lambda_{\rm RGI}$ and $M_W\sim g_w c_w(\alpha)\Lambda_{\rm RGI}$, respectively, where the coefficients $C_f(\alpha)$ and $c_w(\alpha)$ are functions of the gauge couplings, $g_w$ is the weak coupling and $\Lambda_{\rm RGI}$ is the RGI scale of the theory. In view of these expressions, we see that to match the experimental value of the top quark and $W$ masses, we need to conjecture the existence of a yet unobserved sector of massive fermions (that we denote Tera-fermions) subjected, besides ordinary Standard Model interactions, to some kind of super-strong gauge interactions (Tera-interactions), so that the full theory (SM plus Tera-particles) will have an RGI scale $\Lambda_{\rm RGI}\!\equiv \!\Lambda_T\gg\Lambda_{QCD}$ in the TeV region. This approach offers a solution of the Higgs mass naturalness problem (as there is no fundamental Higgs), an understanding of the fermion mass hierarchy and a physical interpretation of the electro-weak scale as a fraction of $\Lambda_T$.